Homeland Stupidity

Federal Judge Finds National Security Letters Unconstitutional, Bans Them

"Ultra-secret national security letters that come with a gag order on the recipient are an unconstitutional impingement on free speech, a federal judge in California ruled in a decision released Friday. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered the government to stop issuing so-called NSLs across the board, in a stunning defeat for the Obama administration’s surveillance practices. She also ordered the government to cease enforcing the gag provision in any other cases. However, she stayed her order for 90 days to give the government a chance to appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Judge Finds National Security Letters Unconstitutional, Bans Them

Private surveillance companies flock to Arizona’s annual Border Security Expo

"The Expo began on Tuesday and concludes today. About 185 companies are showcasing everything from gates to guns, drones to portable toilets. A stall offering self-heating meals was next to a table of firearms. Two themes emerged from a day at the Expo: equipment and technology used by the US military is increasingly becoming available to domestic entities. And software is now easy to use and more powerful. Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) software potentially gives officials huge surveillance powers whether in a desert or a metropolis." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivate surveillance companies flock to Arizona’s annual Border Security Expo

88-year-old peaceful activist wins surveillance database fight

"Three appeal court judges have ruled that police violated the human rights of an 88-year-old peaceful campaigner when they secretly labelled him a 'domestic extremist' and recorded his political activities. John Catt, who has no criminal record, was shocked when he discovered police had clandestinely kept a detailed note of his presence on more than 55 demonstrations over a four-year period. On Thursday, he won his legal action to have the records deleted from a secret database of so-called domestic extremists. Details of the surveillance were revealed by the Guardian in 2010." Continue reading →

Continue Reading88-year-old peaceful activist wins surveillance database fight

Special Forces axe their plan to infiltrate Utah after locals complain about exercise ‘imposing martial law’

"The U.S. Army chose a quiet community in central Utah as the training ground for Special Forces soldiers needing to develop Jason Bourne-like skills and to learn how to build a resistance movement by infiltrating the town leadership. With the deeply religious culture present in Manti, Utah and the desert landscape of the area, residents were deemed ideal candidates by the Defense Department to role play with soldiers in the 10th Special Forces as part of a two week training exercise in July on unconventional warfare tactics. Now that sequestration is in full effect, the Utah mission was called on Thursday to the relief of residents." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpecial Forces axe their plan to infiltrate Utah after locals complain about exercise ‘imposing martial law’

US citing security to censor more public records

"The U.S. government, led by the Pentagon and CIA, censored or withheld for reasons of national security the files that the public requested last year under the Freedom of Information Act more often than at any time since President Barack Obama took office. Overall, the Obama administration last year answered its highest number of requests so far for copies of government documents, emails, photographs and more, and it slightly reduced its backlog of requests from previous years. But it more often cited legal provisions allowing the government to keep records or parts of its records secret, especially a rule intended to protect national security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS citing security to censor more public records

LA Times: Only An Incipient “Terrorist” Denounces State Murder

"Citing the most recent missive from the self-appointed Stasi at the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Los Angeles Times claims that there are 1,360 proto-terrorist groups -- sneeringly denounced as 'patriots,' 'constitutionalists,' and 'sovereign citizens' -- scattered throughout the Soyuz. 'These groups should be closely monitored, with resources adequate to the task, even if it means shifting some homeland security money from the hunt for foreign terrorists,' concludes the paper." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLA Times: Only An Incipient “Terrorist” Denounces State Murder

Why Rand Paul Is in Position to Become DC’s Most Powerful Pol

"While Paul received some criticism from both sides of the aisle, the Democratic criticism was muted by the obviousness of Paul's position and the inadequate response from the Obama administration. Now, House Democrats have done what modern US politics dictates they must do: They have sent a letter to Obama asking him to clarify his position on drone strikes. Paul easily seized leadership on this issue because it is one that appeals to both right and left. There are libertarian sensibilities on both sides of the aisle, and it was this coalition that Ronald Reagan capitalized on when he built his successful political run for the presidency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Rand Paul Is in Position to Become DC’s Most Powerful Pol

Is It Seditious to Oppose Drone-Killing? If So, Count me as a Seditionist

"While Senator Rand Paul’s drone filibuster will not restrain the Obama administration’s use of drones to carry out targeted killings of alleged terrorists and militants, it has laid bare an interesting alignment on the political landscape. Some nominally liberal commentators, such as Newsweek’s Eleanor Clift, accused Senator Paul and other opponents of the drone program of inciting sedition. America was founded on principled hostility to power, not unqualified submission to it. The Founders most likely wouldn’t recognize as Americans people who would entrust the president with the power of discretionary killing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs It Seditious to Oppose Drone-Killing? If So, Count me as a Seditionist

Forbes: 1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security? It’s Time For A National Conversation

"Homeland Security has issued an open purchase order for 1.6 billion rounds of ammunition. As reported elsewhere, some of this purchase order is for hollow-point rounds, forbidden by international law for use in war, along with a frightening amount specialized for snipers. At the height of the Iraq War the Army was expending less than 6 million rounds a month. Therefore 1.6 billion rounds would be enough to sustain a hot war for 20+ years. In America. Add to this perplexing outré purchase of ammo, DHS now is showing off its acquisition of heavily armored personnel carriers, repatriated from the Iraqi and Afghani theaters of operation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingForbes: 1.6 Billion Rounds Of Ammo For Homeland Security? It’s Time For A National Conversation

McCain blasts Rand Paul’s filibuster as a ‘political stunt’

"Speaking on the Senate floor Thursday, Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tore into Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) 'ridiculous' 13-hour filibuster, chastising the junior senator for a speech that was 'not helpful' and not in keeping with Republican orthodoxy on the terror war. McCain also quoted from a Wall Street Journal editorial that mocked Paul. 'If Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously, he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressionable libertarian kids in college dorms,' the editorial jibes. Still, McCain emphasized that 'if someone is an enemy combatant, that enemy combatant has nowhere to hide: not in a cafe, not anywhere.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMcCain blasts Rand Paul’s filibuster as a ‘political stunt’